Improvement in revolving ordnance



. 2 Sh'eets-Sheet I B. FRANKE. Machine Gun.

Pate nted July 29, 1.862.

Witnesses.

Inventor.

UNITED se m- BEI-iNHAItD FRANKE,

PATENT Genres.

OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

" IMPROVEMENT IN .REVOLVlNG ORDNANOE.

To all it]: om fining/concern:

Be it known that;I, .,-Bnanmian Fan-min, of the city, county, and ,State'of New York, have inventednew and useful Jmprovements in Breech-Loading Repeating-Cannons; and I do hereby declarethat the following is a'full and exact description (if-the same, reference being hadtotheaccompanyingdrawihgs,which make 1 part hereof, and in which- Fignrefl represents-aperspee'ti-ve view of the cannon with its. appenda'es; Fig-. 2, a longitudinal vertical section oft e-same through the middle thereof; Fig; 3,-a view from above of the spring-catch which stops the revolution of the wheel holding and carrying the several breechesas the breeches comein succession oppositc therear of the barrel; Fig.1,- aface and edge view of the wedgeshapedivheel which operates the sp'ring-catch, Fig. 3.

The same letters refer to the same parts on all the drawings.

The carriage of my improved cannon'is well.

known and in common use,and therefore needs no particular description, as I do not claim any improvement in gun-carriageaand I do not intend to limit myself to any particular one. The

' barrel of the'caun'on, with the wheel containing the separate breeches firmly attached'to it, rests upon trunnions on the carriage in the usual way, and the rear of the breech-wheel is supported by a screw, w, for elevatingor depressing the aim.

The barrel of my cannon mayhave any of the well-known forms of cannon-barrels, exceptat the rear end. It has no breech, but is bored larger than its caliber for the reception and withdrawal of separate breaches, These .breeches may be made of steel, and are bored of the caliber of the barrel, have their vent or nipple, and when in place-the and toward the barrel enters and fits into the enlarged cavity of the rear of the barrel, as shown at A b,where, while being discharged, it is firmly held by the stop 0.

The breeches are held in a solid horizontal -wheel bored for their reception in radial posi-' tions. I prefer six of these breeches, but a different numbermay he used. This breech-wheel is also bored vertically at its center for the reception of a shaft, on which itrevolvcs. (Marked fipccificntion forming part of Ileiters-lfttt cnt No. 3'$, 9, dated sin,- 29, 1862. v

g.)' Near its outer periphery, on its lowerslde.

it hasa face cog-wheel, the teeth of which are shown at a 21-, extending entirely'aronnd,just- 3 within it's periphery, and into this cog-wheel work the cogs of a pinion (shown at v) upon the shaft 11-. This shaft and pinion areoperated at W pleasure by applyingthehand to the radial. arms d at 'theeud of the pinion-shaft n1. 1 By:.

moving these arms the pinion will revolve, and

of course carry the breech-wheel around; 1

.' The hreech-wheel is placed not only on the I shaft 9' for support, but also within a circular rim,- C-, with a: strong bottom plate, to which ,theshaft is fir'mly attached, and which extends in front of the rim, and by any well-k nown devices holds the barrel.

The brceches are so placed in the breechwheel that when not protruded into the rear.

end of the barrel they are flush with the outer circumference of said wheel, and will revolve freely therewith when power is applied tothe handles 11. As the breeches are loaded they are revolved with the breech-wheel toward the rear of the'barrel, and as each arrives there the sprin g-catch cdrops into the notch in the breechwheel, (shown in Fig. 3,) arresting the motion I-of the wheel. The breech in rear of the barrel 'isthen in position to be moved forward into its place in the barrel in condition to he discharged. This motion is eiiected by the revolution of the shaft t, which is provided with a finger,y, taking into a notch,z, and with a sec-' tor-pinion, s. This notch z is cutaway on its front in such a manner that when the breech is carried to its place in the barrel the finger will slip out and press it no farther, while the sector-pinion s will still continue to work in the sliding rack 1' and carry the stop 0' (sliding in a groovein the shaftg) up until it is in position to resist the recoil of the breech. Motion may be given to the shaftt by applying the hand to the handle a, or by any well-known means.

After the discharge, reversing the motion of the shaft twill withdraw the stop 0 and afterward retract the breech into the breech-wheel, after which the said wheel will again be prepared to revolve and bring the next loaded breech to the barrel. As the handles :1 are again moved to revolve the l reech-wheel the 'wedge. orinclinedsurfaceof the wheel '13, (shown at12inFigsJ and4,) comingag' ainstthespringcatch as, will draw it outof the notch, thus al- "lowing the'breechwheelto revolve, andwill" keep-it out until the wheel F and the springcatch 0 e resume the position shown in Fig. l; The parts should be'so adapted that the springcatch will drop in the wheel and stop it the moment the breech gets into the proper-p0- sition for being pushed farwsi'd into the barrel. -This is efl'ected, as shown in the drewings,by. causiu'g one revolution of the shaft 1: to rotate thebreech-wheel the space between the centers of the adjacent breeches.

A circular plete, L is fastened upon the top of the breech-wheel, by the nuthorotherwise, in such a manner as to cover closely all the nipples or vents, except the'one belonging to the breech,which has been insertedinto the barrel. For the purpose of facilitating the swabbing and loading the breeches, I place two ormore spout-shaped projections, c a, from the rim 0 opposite the mouths of some of the breeches,

l. Thecombination of the breech and the stop lo with the finger y and the rack and pinion 1' 3, operating substantially in the manner and for the purpose set forth.

2. The combination of the plate I with the breeches and nipples, in the manner and for the purpose described.

, BER-HEARD 'FRANKE.

In presence off W. 1. N. Frrzenmnn,

Ms. E. Wnsr. 

